[Answered] India has achieved remarkable successes in unmanned space missions including the Chandrayaan and Mars Orbiter Mission, but has not ventured into manned space mission, both in terms of technology and logistics. Explain critically.

India has been able to carry out unmanned spaced mission but lacks the full fledged capabilities in manned space missions. With its indigenous technology India successfully launched Chandrayaan – I mission which revealed existence of water on the surface of the moon. Similarly, MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) was successfully launched in its first attempt with low cost. These two are unmanned missions but India could not launch even a single manned mission. Recent failure of Vikram lander to make soft landing on moon reflects India’s inability to still land on moon and also a manned space mission. Although some developments have taken place in terms of technology and logistics, India is still facing some hurdles in launching manned space missions.

Progress made wrt manned mission:

ISRO
said carried out a major technology demonstration, the first in a series of
tests to qualify a crew escape system, a critical technology relevant for human
spaceflight.

In 2017,
first developmental flight of GSLV Mk-III was successfully conducted. In 2018,
first successful flight of crew escape system was tested.

ISRO has
developed some critical technologies like re-entry mission capability, crew
escape system, crew module configuration which was successfully launched with
dummy payloads and brought it back to
the Arabian sea etc, thermal protection system, deceleration and floatation
system, sub-systems of life support system etc. required for this programme.

Some of
these technologies have been demonstrated successfully through the Space
Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-2007), Crew module Atmospheric Reentry
Experiment (CARE-2014) and Pad Abort Test (2018). These technologies will
enable ISRO in accomplishing the programme objectives in a short span of 4
years.

Environment
Control and Life Support Systems are meant to make the crew capsule liveable
and the flight safe for the astronauts.

The Crew
Escape System is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with
the astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in the event of a
launch abort. Mention experiment for emergency escape of astronauts called the
Pad Abort Test which will be repeated at higher distances etc.

India
has a new dedicated control centre for HSP would be set up at ISTRAC etc.

Technological
issues and challenges:

ISRO is
still long way away, despite advancements in some critical technologies in past
decade. It is stilling building its capabilities and developing critical
technologies required to send astronaut being into space.

The
required key technologies ISRO still has to develop for such mission. It
includes ability to launch, recover and ensure earth-like conditions for
astronauts. ISRO so far has successfully tested many of the technologies
required for such a manned mission, but there are still others to be developed
and tested.

ISRO is
planning to launch manned space programme by 2021-24. Towards this end, it has
unveiled a prototype of its first crew capsule (4 metre high module) designed
to carry two people into low earth orbit.

The third
stage of cryogenic technology in GSLV is still not fully developed. GSLV Mark 3
will also be upgraded and tested to carry payloads upto 8 tonnes.

India is
also working on Space Capsule Recovery Experiment-2 (SRE-2) that will
demonstrate critical technologies required for recoverable launch vehicles.

Logistics
issues:

India is
depended mainly on single type of launch vehicle such as that of PSLV which
hampers the capacity expansion of the programme.

Since
time is short, the ISRO won’t be able to establish an astronaut training
facility for the current mission and instead will have to train its astronauts
in a foreign centre.

India
does not have its own global navigation system.

India
got membership in MTCR (missile technology control regime) recently, without
which other members of group don’t share their technology pertaining to space
science and space missions. That was one of the reason why India is unable to
get any sort of aid in upgrading their technology.

Indian
research laboratories, space related labs, industries are not in a position to
manufacture the sophisticated equipment. Our industry is now starting
manufacturing the pace vehicles so India is facing the problem of both
technology and logistics for manned space missions.

Funding
and finance is essential to develop various equipments, technology and new tools required in the coordination of
a manned space programme. But ISRO is still waiting for the government approval
and funding for a human space flight programme.

Some scientists hold the view that private players have much more flexibility, freedom and risk taking abilities than the state owned agencies. Thus there should be more participation of private players in space programmes. India must realize that China launched its manned space mission to space in 2016 and will establish its permanent space station by 2022. Therefore India should also increase its footprints in manned space mission capabilities at the earliest.